Most of us mom’s would have become familiar with the term colostrum. What is it you may ask?
Well it’s found in early mother’s milk for newborns. It is baby’s first food and helps baby build its
Immune system. Good stuff indeed.

But did you know that colostrum is no longer just for tots? Indeed, colostrum is now being
packaged as a wonder-supplement for adults. Several years back, it was not a mother, but a
male friend who introduced me to it. “It’s great for your immune system but when I took it, my
skin improved,” he said. Now, that got me intrigued! So besides thinking of it as just baby’s first
food, I wanted to know more. What exactly is in colostrum? Colostrum has over 90 immune
factors (immune cells and antibodies), over 80 different growth factors, a host of proteins and
Vitamin A. So what does all this good stuff do for you and how can you benefit from taking
colostrum?

Here are five reasons to add colostrum back into your life.

1. Strengthening the immune system. According to one study, up to 70% of the immune
system’s cells reside in the gut. Often, when we have a weakened immune system, this
is the result of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Studies have shown colostrum
to be excellent in healing gut inflammation, thereby rebuilding or maintaining a strong
immune system.

2. Improving moods. There are an increasing number of studies linking mood to the gut
response. When we address and heal gut inflammation, this indirectly improves mood by
encouraging the brain to produce dopamine and serotonin.

3. Supporting weight loss. Colostrum has also been shown to help the body turn to its
fat stores for fuel, instead of the proteins in muscles. This can help in weight loss.
Besides this, it has also shown to help stabilize blood glucose levels, leaving one feeling
less hungry and less fatigued.

4. Healing wounds and reducing recovery time. People taking colostrum have been
shown to have faster wound healing. This ranges from cuts to burns. It helps the body
in managing potential infections, thereby reducing inflammation and scarring associated
with the wounds. More athletes are learning about its benefits too in muscle recovery
time. This means that after a hard day’s training, the athletes need less time to recover
from aches or injuries. Interestingly, in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, the Australian
swim team took colostrum supplements and attributed their wins in part to this
supplement.

5. Improving skin. Supplementing the body with colostrum has been shown in studies to
provide the body with more human growth hormones and other growth factors, including
epidermal/epithelial growth factors that prevent skin aging.

So if you like me are now intrigued by colostrum and want to add it to your nutrient plan,
perhaps you could wander down to your local supplement or health food store. It’s usually
available in a capsules. Alternatively, you can find it in a format that resembles milk powder,
which is then added to water.

Lastly, here’s a clip I came across today on colostrum. Hope you enjoy it!